Life is Inconstant
by GenericUsername3
Summary: Life is inconstant, changes happen. Annabeth decides to take matters into her own hands when she runs away at a young age, never to return. Matters are taken out of her hands when that life comes back to her, around ten years later.


PoV - Third Person

For a short period after she was born, Annabeth felt that she was a part of a family, and everything seemed perfect. The reality soon set in when her ideal world caved in. Her mother left her with her bitter father to fend for herself. Now of course, she knows why her mother left, but she never understood why her father treated her like an alien. He abused his daughter, leaving mostly emotional and rarely physical damage in his wake. She endured the constant feeling of being worthless for years.

It was almost as if she was a terrible present, and couldn't be returned or just thrown away, because he knew Athena would be furious if he let her literal brainchild be raised by another "ignorant mortal". It was a particularly bad night, when Annabeth's step-mother was yet again screaming at her for being a sneak and lying about spiders in her room. She slammed the door after warning her in a scary tone to not wake them up again. Annabeth noticed the draft from the windows while curled up on her bed sobbing after the fact. The temptation was too great, and soon enough, Annabeth was gone from her father's life, and California. She never expected to be reconnected with Frederick, and that didn't bother her one bit.

LINE BREAK

Annabeth, Percy, Paul, and Sally were all enjoying a game of scrabble in the living room. Annabeth was obviously winning, but Paul and Sally held their own with their writing backgrounds. Percy on the other hand… was trying hard not to rip his hair out. He didn't have trouble coming up with the words, he just couldn't decipher the letters. It was beyond him how Annabeth managed it. He pondered if it was due to her burning desire to excell at anything and everything.

"I'm going to have to spread the word that Scrabble isn't fun for demigods" mumbled Percy.

"If that's your excuse, why am I winning" Annabeth retorted with a smile touching at her lips.

"Ehhh… because you cheat?" Percy replied, raising his voice to finish the sentence. The accusation didn't sit well with Annabeth, so she pinched his arm with her nails, hard.

"Ow!" Percy whined, sounding like he was twelve again, when in truth he was seventeen.

Laughter filled the room with the comfort of family, a feeling Annabeth didn't learn until she began her new life. It was moments like this that Annabeth knew she had a family to rely on with people who truly cared for her. On a side note she was also amazed that a titan slayer could whine so much about a pinch.

Annabeth was staying in the guest bedroom of the Jackson's house for the school year, partially because of the lingering night terrors from the horrors of Tartarus. She often took college architecture courses online because the lack of challenge at Goode didn't keep her entertained for long. She still attended, because Percy unintentionally managed to make it interesting for her. With everything considered, life was finally looking up for Percy and Annabeth.

LINE BREAK

"Stop"

"No."

"Percy…"

"No." Annabeth and Percy were wandering around the local supermarket. To sate his ADHD, Percy kept playing with Annabeth's hair as she pushed the cart. She never told him, but she loved the way he gingerly combed through her curly golden hair with his fingers. If he knew then Annabeth wouldn't have anything to bicker with him about, which was completely unacceptable in her mind.

She was wearing a pale blue blouse with a pristinely white pair of jeans, while her head was adorned with floppy straw hat. Percy went with the effortless option and just threw on blue jeans and a light green tee shirt. Annabeth was exhilarated once her wardrobe options opened up due to the onset of warm weather in New York.

"I'll go fetch the tomatoes, can you be trusted to get the pasta?" Annabeth inquired.

"No problem."

"Remember, Penne, Sally specifically wrote 'Penne Pasta' on the list."

"I know Annabeth, don't worry I've got this."

PoV - First Person (Annabeth)

I sauntered down the aisles making my way to the produce section, which didn't take me long. Probably because I memorized the layout of the grocery store last time I was here. I leaned forward to reach the ripest looking tomatoes which happened to be in the back, matching them up and dropping them gently in the basket I was carrying. I swiftly turned around and went on my way, apparently I was too swift because I immediately impacted someone that was walking behind me at an unlucky moment.

"Sorry about that sir" I mumbled, embarrassed. He composed himself in no time and turned to me, and it was truly like those clickbait youtube titles. What I saw next really shocked me. Standing a few inches above me was Frederick Chase. I couldn't move, to busy analyzing what was happening. This wasn't Frederick Chase. It couldn't be. That man lived in San Francisco, not New York.

PoV - Third Person

Her denial was short lived. As the awkward staring gave the man time to get a good look at her face, and those one of a kind eyes, those bright stone colored eyes, those eyes that no one forgot.

Her breath hitched as she saw his eyes piece something together, and she hurriedly got out of his way going to find Percy and leave immediately.

"Annabeth?" The man called.

The person in question stopped dead in her tracks, shocked at the fact that this was truly who she thought it was at first. Annabeth always had a plan. She was the confident leader who fought in too many battles for her age. She was the girl who could effortlessly ace a test. She was supposed to be though. She was supposed to be smart. In this moment, she was only clueless on how to act. Here in front of her was a man that shared a deep connection with, yet had no love for.

This reaction left the man confident that his conjecture was spot on. He also had no idea what to do. Such major event out of absolutely nowhere was hard to react to, with no consideration previously on how to act.

"I've got to go" came the long awaited answer from the clueless girl.

"No! Please. Stay."

"I'm leaving." she said with an air of confidence. This man had caused her enough pain for one lifetime. Her only thought was to get away. She wanted nothing to do with him, blood related or not. Her emotions made this decision in the heat of the moment, her brain was too baffled to deal with decision making of this caliber.

"Wait. At the very least, take my cell number." he called out, unable to react properly to the sudden rejection before he even had a chance to gather himself.

"Fine." She was soon given a sticky note with numbers sprawled across it, making no attempt to continue dialogue with him.

"I'll do anything. Just give me one chance." She looked him in the eye, giving it some thought. Then she stalked away to find her boyfriend, the lighthouse she needed in the storm. She soon found him looking through the boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, no Penne in sight. She walked up to him

"Percy, let's go."

"What? Why? And where's the basket?"

"We're leaving." the tone left no room for question and Percy obediently took his leave with her, unsure of whether or not the were even safe. No groceries, just wasted time, he had no idea why the didn't just finish shopping. 'Is there a monster nearby?' he thought to himself. Debatably. Whatever it was, he trusted there was good reason in her decision and soon enough, they were gone.

Please let me know how to improve or any other preferences/ideas. Thanks for reading :). Let me know if I should continue this story.


End file.
